THE TOWER OF THE CHURCH OF ST. AUGUSTINE

Built in 1602, the only ruin of the Church of St. Augustine on the Holy
Hill at Old Goa near the Nunnery, is a lofty 46-metre high tower defying
the torrential rains. The tower is one of the four of St. Augustine Church
that once stood there. There were eight richly adorned chapels and four
altars, and a convent with numerous cells and artistic columns attached to
the church.

The Church when intact was perhaps the biggest in Goa.
With the religious suppression in 1835, the Augustinians deserted the
church and the convent. The latter was used for some time by the
charitable institution of the Misericordia. The buildings fell into
neglect resulting in the collapse of the vault on 8 September 1842. The
Government appropriated the property selling the materials the following
year. The façade and half of the tower fell in 1931 and some more
parts of it collapsed in 1938.